Manufacture of shoes and shoe bottom units



C. ROBERTS Nov. 8, 1938.

MANUFACTURE OF SHOES AND SHOE BOTTOLI Filed July 27, 1936 Patented Nov.8,1938

PATENT OFFICE 2,135,676 MANUFACTURE or snoas AND snon no'r- TOM UNITS.

Clifford Roberts, Winchester, Hum, alsig nor to United Shoe MachineryCorporation, Paterson, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey ApplicationJuly :1, 1m, No. 92,790 6 Claims. (01. 12-142) This invention relates toimprovements in shoes and shoe bottom units and to improvements inmethods of making shoes. I 1

In United States Letters Patent No. 2,065,463, granted December 22,1936, upon application of John M. Whelton, there is disclosed a shoebottom unit comprising an insole, a heel and shank reinforcing piecewhich is secured to the lower or lasting side of the insole and whichentirely covers the heel and shank portions thereof, and a shankstiffener which is interposed between the reinforcing piece and theinsole. The reinforcing pieces for such insole units are commonly madeof fiberboard or similar stifl material of 15 laminated formation and inthe manufacture of a shoe embodying such an insole unit it is a commonpractice to secure the margin of the upper in overlasted position uponthe fiber reinforcing piece by means of cement. While a sufiicientlyfirm attachment of the upper to the outermost layer of the fiberboard isestablished in most cases, it sometimes happens that one or more of thefiberboard layers become separated from the rest of the reinforcingpiece as a result of the strains to which the bottom of the shoe issubjected while it is being worn and in such cases the .attachment ofthe insole unit to the upper becomes unduly weakened.

For the purpose of avoiding such an undesirable condition the reinforcedinsole unit herein illustrated is of improved construction having areinforcing piece of fiberboard or similar material at the lower orlasting side of its shank portion which is substantially narrower thanthe shank portion of the insole and is arranged to expose marginalsurfaces of substantial width at opposite sides of the reinforcing piecefor the reception of lasting cement thereby enabling the shoe upper tobe cement-lasted directly to the 4 shank portion of the insole itself.Thus, by employing an insole vof leather or other material which is notof laminated formation (or which, if laminated, has its component layersso firmly s'ecured together that there is little if any tendency forthem to become separated) any inherent weakness in the attachment of theupp r to the insole unit is positively insured against. Preferably, andas herein shown, the reinforcing piece, while narrower than the shankportion of the insole, is nevertheless sufiiciently wide to provide fora sufficient width of bonding area between the reinforcing piece and theinsole to insure that the desired transverse curvature of the shankpor-.--

tion of the unit shall be maintained. Moreover,

as illustrated, the opposite edges of the narrowportlon of thereinforcing piece are cut substantially perpendicular to the surfaces ofthe piece so as to constitute upstanding lasting shoulders fordeflecting upwardly the surplus lasting allowance of the upper and thusto facilitate subsequent 5 trimming of the latter.

In making a shoe embodying my improved reinforced insole unit the upper,after being assembled with an insole unit on a last, is lasted over theexposed insole surface in the shank por- 10 tion of the unit and securedin overlasted position thereon preferably by means of cement with thesurplus portions of its lasting allowance upstanding beside the oppositeedges of the reinforcing piece, the upstanding portions of the 15 upperare trimmed substantially flush with the exposed surface of thereinforcing piece and with the outer surfaces of the rest of theoverlasted upper, and an outsoie is laid and its shank portion securedby means of cement to the over- 20 lasted portions of the upperincluding the trimmed edges of the latter. Thus, not only is the uppersecured to the insole unit in such a way that its attachment is notliable to be subsequently weakened, but a substantially continuous 25surface is provided in the shank portion of the shoe bottom for thereception of an outsole and a secure bond of adhesion is establishedbetween the outsole and the shoe bottom.

Invention is also to be recognized as residing 30 in certain improvedfeatures of shoe construction resulting from the practice of theabove-described method.

The invention will now be explained with reference to the accompanyingdrawing, in which- 5 Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved insoleunit;

Fig. 2 isv a sectional view thereof taken along the line II-II of Fig.l; r

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the shank 40 portion of the insoleunit;

Fig. '4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of a shoe in the course ofconstruction, the shoe having embodied therein my improved insole unit;45

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but illustrating a further stage inthe manufacture of a shoe; and

Fig. 61s a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the completed'shoe.

Referring to the drawing, my improved insole d 7 unit comprises afull-length insole ll preferably of leather or other non-laminatedmaterial to which lasting cement will readily adhere, a heel and shankreinforcing piece I! which may be composed of fiberboard or similarstiff material 55 and which is secured by means of cement to the insole,and a metallic shank stiflener strip ll which is interposed between thereinforcing piece and the insole. As shown, the shank stiffener H hasthe usual longitudinal curvature and the shank portions of thereinforcing piece I! and the insole iii are curved longitudinally tocorrespond to the longitudinal curvature of the shank stiffener M of thelast with which the unit is to be used and, in addition, the shankportions of the reinforcing piece and the insole are curved transverselyto correspond to the transverse curvature of the bottom of the last. Theshank stiffener H has a burr or spur It struck up from its rear portionand embedded within the material of the reinforcing piece I! to assistin holding the shank stiffener in place and the forward portion of theshank stifiener is received within an opening in the form of an opennotch il in the forward portion of the reinforcing piece so that it ispositively maintained against lateral edgewise displacement.

As shown, the heel portion of the reinforcin piece l2 has substantiallythe same lateral edge: contour as the heel portion of the insole but theshank portion of the reinforcing piece is substantially narrower thanthe shank portion of thelnsole'so that marginal surfaces 20 ofsubstantial width are exposed at the lower or lasting side of theinsolefor the reception of lastin cement in the process of cement lasting ashoe upper to the insole unit. The reduced or narrowed shank portion ofthe reinforcing piece l2, however, is substantially wider than the shankstiffener i4 and is so arranged that after cement attachment of thereinforcing piece to the insole the attached portions will be ofsufficient width at opposite sides of. the shank stiffener effectivelyto maintain the desired transverse curvature of the shank portion of theinsole unit. Moreover, as shown, the opposite edges of the relativelynarrow shank portion of the reinforcing piece are substantiallyperpendicular to its upper and lower surfaces so as to constitutesubstantially perpendicular lasting shoulders 22 for deflecting intoupstanding positions the surplus lasting allowance of the upper andthereby facilitating the trimming of the latter. The reinforcing pieceis beveled to a thin edge at its forward extremity which is locatedapproximately at the break line of the insole. Forwardly and upwardlysloping beveled surfaces 23 are formed upon the heel portion of thereinforcing piece at opposite sidesof the relatively narrow shankportion thereof to prevent the formation of. any objectionable ridges inthe over-lasted upper between those portions which are secured directlyto the insole in the shank portion of the shoe and those which overliethe reinforcing piece at theheel of the shoe. The edges of the insoleare shown as being beveled somewhat along its shank portion-and aroundits heel end and the lateral edge of the heel portion of the reinforcingpiece is beveled to blend with the bevel on the insole.

In making a shoe embodying the above-described insole unlt, as shown inFig. 4, the insole unit is assembled with a shoe upper 24 upon a last26, the insole unit being tacked to the last bottom and the upper beingworked over the last and having its margin secured in overlastedposition upon the insole unit by means of cement.

- In Fig. 4 the lasting cement is indicated at 28.

To hold the overlasted upper margins in place while the cement issetting tacks may be employed such as the lasting tacks II. Fig. 4. In

surplus lasting allowance is trimmed. In the shank portion of the shoethe trimming of the upper is greatly facilitated by the fact that thesurplus portions of the upper material are upstanding, as alreadydescribed. Moreover, the upper is trimmed in the shank portion of theshoe so that its trimmed edges N are located closely adjacent to theedges of the reinforcing piece i2 and substantially flush with the outersurface of. the latter and with the outer surface of the adjacentoverlasted portions of the upper. Thus, the presence of the lastingshoulders 22 insures that, as a result of the lasting and trimmingoperations, a smooth bottom surface is provided to receive the outsoleand one which is practically continuous from one lateral edge of theinsole to the otherin the shank portion of the shoe bottom.

After the upper has been trimmed it is only necessary to roughen theouter surface of the overlasted margins of the upper and coat them withcement in the usual way to prepare for the cement attachment of anoutsole, such as the outsole 36, the margins at the attaching side ofwhich have also been roughed and coated with cement. In accordance withthe usual practice the cement coatings are applied to a quantity ofoutsoles and shoe bottoms before any of the outsoles are attached and asuitable. solvent is employed to soften the cement just prior to theattachment of a particular outsole to a particular shoe. After theoutsoles have been laid in place upon the shoe bottoms the attachingpressure is supplied by the use 01'. a suitable sole-attaching press ina well-known manner.

Inasmuch as the reinforcing piece l2 has been made narrow enough in itsshank portion to expose sufiiciently wide areas of the insole surface atopposite sides of the reinforcing piece in. the shank portion of theshoe bottom, the upper will be secured by cement directly to the leatherinsole itself in that portion as well as in the forepart of the shoe andthere will be no danger that the attachment in the shank portion willsubsequently become weakened as might happen if the upper were cementattached to a reinforcing piece of the customary laminated formation.Furthermore, the shank portion of the outsole will conform accurately tothe transverse curvature of the last bottom, due to the facts that theouter surface of the overlasted upper in that portion of the shoe issubstantially flush with the outer surface of the shank reinforcingpiece and there are no spaces or cavities present between thosesurfaces.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A reinforced shoe bottom unit comprising an insole having integralforepart, shank and heel portions, said shank portion being transverselycurved to correspond to the transverse curvature of the bottom of alast, a heel and shank reinforcing piece located at the lower or lastingside of the insole, and a narrow shank stiffener strip interposedbetween said parts, said reinforcing piece having its heel portion ofsubstantially the same lateral edge contour as the heel portion of theinsole and having its shank portion substantially narrower than theshank portion of the insole and said shank portion having perpendicularedge faces extending throughout its entire length to constitute lastingshoulders, said reinforcing piece being secured by means of adhesive tothe insole at both sides of the shank stiffener throughout areas ofsubstantial width sufiicient to maintain the transverse curvature of theinsole, and said insole having marginal portions of its lower surfaceleft bare throughout areas of substantial width at opposite sides of thereinforcing piece for the reception of lasting cement.

2. A reinforced insole unit comprising an insole, a reinforcing piecesecured to the shank portion of the insole and having an opening in itsforward portion, and a narrow shank stiffener strip inter- .narrow shankportion posed between said parts and having a forward portion retainedagainst lateral edgewise displacement by engagement within said opening,said reinforcing piece being shaped to expose marginal insole surfacesof substantial width extending substantially throughout the length ofthe shank portion of the insole for the reception of lasting fasteningsand having opposite edge faces perpendicular to its upper and lowersurfaces providing lasting shoulders perpendicular to said exposedinsole surfaces and extending substantially throughout the full lengthof the shank portion of the insole.

3. A shoe comprising, in combination, a relatively flexible insole, arelatively hard and stiff heel and shank reinforcing piece secured tothe lasting side of the insole, and a shank stiffener interposed betweensaid parts, said reinforcing piece covering the heel seat of the insoleand extending forwardly to the ball portion thereof but having its shankportion substantially narrower than the shank portion of the insole andof uniform thickness throughout its width, an upper having marginalportions secured in overlasted positions upon the insole at oppositesides of the of the reinforcing piece with their outer surfacessubstantially flush with the outer surface of said reinforcing piece,and an outsole cement-attached to said surfaces of the overlasted upper.

4. A shoe comprising, in combination, an insole composed of relativelysoft material to which lasting cement will readily adhere and having atransversely curved shank portion, a relatively hard and stiff heel andshank reinforcing piece secured to the lasting side of the insole andconforming in its shank portion to the transverse curvature of the shankportion of the insole, the reinforcing piece covering the heel seat ofthe insole and extending forwardly to the ball portion but beingsubstantially narrower than the insole along the shank portion of thelatter and having perpendicular edge faces along said narrower portionand an opening in its forward end portion, a narrow shank stiffenerinterposed between the insole and said reinforcing piece and having aportion received in said opening, an upper cementlasted to the marginsof the insole at opposite sides of the narrow shank portion of saidreinforcing piece and having its inner extremities abutting theperpendicular edge faces of said reinforcing piece, and an outsolecement-attached to the overlasted margins of the upper.

5. A shoe comprising, in combination, an insole composed of relativelysoft material to which lasting cement will readily adhere, a relativelyhard and stiff heel and shank reinforcing piece secured to the lastingside of the insole, the refilforcing piece covering the heel seat of theinsole and extending forwardly to the ball portion thereof but beingsubstantially narrower than the insole along the shank portion of thelatter, a narrow shank stiffener interposed between the insole and thereinforcing piece, an upperhaving marginal portions secured inoverlasted positions upon the insole at opposite sides of the narrowshank portion of the reinforcing piece, the outer surface of saidoverlasted upper portions being substantially flush with the outersurface of said reinforcing piece, and said overlasted upper portionshaving trimmed edges lying closely adjacent to the edges of saidreinforcing piece and substantially flush with the outer surface of thelatter, and an outsole cement-attached to said outer surface and to saidtrimmed edges.

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes which consists inassembling with an upper on a last an insole unit comprising an insolehaving exposed marginal lasting surfaces of substantial width in itsshank portion and a shank reinforcing piece the opposite lateral edgesof which constitute substantial perpendicular lasting shouldersextending along the inner boundaries of said insole lasting surfaces,lasting the upper over said insole lasting surfaces and against saidshoulders and securing it in overlasted position upon the insole withsurplus portions of its lasting allowance upstanding beside saidshoulders, trimming said surplus lasting allowance substantially flushwith the exposed surface of said reinforcing piece, and laying anoutsole and securing it by means of cement to said overlasted portionsof the upper including said trimmed edges thereof.

CLIFFORD ROBERTS.

